bank of america wichita ks

Wichita Kansas Bank of America Robbery

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Bank of America questions customer's citizenship, freezes accounts

22.01.19

“So, we get up in the morning,” he said. “Card doesn’t work again. So, my wife -- being the patient one -- calls and they said, ‘Well, your cards have been lost or stolen.’”

That was not true, so Collin says he went to the bank in person to talk with a representative.

" The first question they asked me was, ‘Are you a citizen?’” he said. “Again? ‘Yes.’ And then they wanted to know if I had dual citizenship.”

The bank eventually unfroze Collins’ accounts, but not before sending an email notifying him all of his automatic bill payment accounts were wiped out.

Collins said the bank explained that, eventually, they would be asking this of all their customers.

Bank of America released the following statement Friday:

Like all financial institutions, we’re required by law to maintain complete and accurate records for all of our customers and may periodically request information as required by law and regulation. This is not unique to Bank of America. This type of outreach is nothing new and the information must be up to date. Therefore we periodically reach out to customers, which is what we did in this case.

LAWRENCE — Across the country, affordable checking is becoming a thing of the past. Bank of America recently ended its free online checking account offer, but “main street banks” and small institutions are taking similar measures. A report co-authored by University of Kansas researchers shows that a majority of American banks are failing to offer safe and affordable checking accounts, missing industry standards and shutting some out of the financial mainstream.

Terri Friedline, assistant professor of social welfare and director of financial inclusion in the Center on Assets, Education and Inclusion in KU’s School of Social Welfare, led a study to assess whether banks are offering safe, affordable checking to all consumers. The results show that very few do, while many charge high rates and overdraft fees. The study also found that bank staff are often allowed to use discretion in whether to charge overdraft fees. The study assessed if low- to moderate-income consumers could afford checking accounts and if banks were meeting 2017-18 Bank On National Account Standards.